Hudson district plans advanced manufacturing program

Hudson Area Schools, in cooperation with local manufacturers and the city of Hudson, is launching an advanced manufacturing facility next fall.

The Hudson Development Center is a program in develop- ment that will train high school students and adults across the region for engineering and manufacturing positions. The school district — which is spearheading the project — plans to have the center located in Plant 1 on the M&S Manufacturing property along M-34.

Hudson City Manager Steve Hartsel said the program is “in response to a need that was clearly identified here in the city by all of the local manufacturers, who all expressed desire to get more skilled workers to fill positions here.”

Hartsel and Hudson superintendent Michael Osborne said the increased need for skilled advanced welding and tool and die workers has existed for a couple of years after coming out of the recent economic downturn. Manufacturing facilities in Hudson are Hi-Lex Controls, Kecy Products, Homer Donaldson LLC, Rima Manufacturing and Hornet Manufacturing.

Osborne said it is vital the district produces a “well-trained work force” and fills the niche that is largely unfilled regionally.

“When students leave Hudson Area Schools, we want them to be able to get a job immediately in manufacturing and be able to come back to the facility for additional training or go on to get a degree in engineering and manufacturing,” he said.

With the assistance of South Central Michigan Works, the Lenawee Intermediate School District and Jackson Area Manufacturers Association, the center, when it opens, should “help produce workers with these necessary skills and improve the economic prosperity in the city,” Hartsel said.

In the meantime, Osborne said, the district is working on securing grants and donations to help cover costs and equipment purchases. The district is also “ironing out” a potential lease agreement that Osborne said should be finalized in December.

“We’re also looking at possibly purchasing the building in the future for Hudson Area Schools,” he said.

The program, modeled after a Louisville, Ky., manufacturing facility's curriculum, Osborne said, is different than what is offered at the LISD Tech Center because of its regional reach, from Hillsdale, Jackson and Lenawee counties to border counties in Ohio.

“We want to work with the LISD, and though we know there will be some overlap, there is enough of a need out there that we can add on to the great programs they offer there,” he said.